


Mixcommunication, or a Very Happy Accident

by bellabee



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Christmas fic, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Reddie, christmas gifts, love through the form of mixtapes, soft gays in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 00:26:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17131553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellabee/pseuds/bellabee
Summary: Eddie can’t figure out what to get Richie for Christmas. Little did he know, the answer was right there all along.





	Mixcommunication, or a Very Happy Accident

**Author's Note:**

> Here’s my secret santa gift for @areyoureddieforit on tumblr ! I hope you enjoy it, darling, and happy holidays !
> 
> check me out on tumblr @maxine-gayfield !

Eddie Kaspbrak had a problem. In the grand scheme, it wasn’t that big of a problem, but to him it very much was. It wasn’t life threatening by any means, but in his mind a friendship was at stake. The thing was, he couldn’t figure out what to get his best friend for Christmas to save his life.

He had already gotten presents for the rest of his friends; they were much easier. He got a small cardinal ornament for Stan (though he was Jewish, he still enjoyed a holiday gift exchange with his friends), a set of crystals for Bev, an ink and quill set for Bill, a knit sweater for Mike, and a new history book for Ben. He had been able to pick those out easily. As soon as he saw them, he knew they were right for his friends.However, no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t find anything good enough for Richie. He found tons of stuff that he would like, but none of it seemed like it was right. He could get him a new record, or a colorful shirt that wasn’t completely hideous, but it wasn’t good enough for him. He wanted to get Richie something special. He needed to get him something special.

As his mother was out of the house for the day, he set out for another day of shopping. He bundled up in his winter coat and a nice warm scarf and pulled his hat over his chocolate brown waves, covering the rosy tips of his ears. It was a chilly day in Derry, snowfall impending by the looks of the gray clouds in the sky.

He got into his car, a ‘67 ford mustang that had belonged to his father. It had taken a lot of convincing for his mother to allow him to use get his license, but when he threatened to try and leave, _again _, she let him take the test. It was even harder to get her to let him use the car, so he usually only drove it when she wasn’t there to stop him.__

____  


He made his way downtown, somehow finding a parking spot. He got out and put quarters in the meter, buying himself an hour of shopping. He hoped that would be enough, since he was only shopping for one person. However, if history repeated itself, he would find nothing yet again. He walked down the street, peering through shop windows.

He decided to stop in a clothing shop, seeing some shirts that Richie might like. He looked through the racks, softly humming along to the music playing overhead. A few shirts were considered, but he still felt as if it wasn’t a good enough gift for him.

A heavy sigh fell from his lips as he left the shop empty handed, resigned to shop some more. He stopped inside a music shop next, knowing Richie would be a fan of a new cassette or record. He grinned as he remembered Richie talking about an album he had wanted and bounded over to the section it should be in. His eyes scanned over the rows, his finger moving along with them. He paused once he found the spot it should be in, only to find it empty.

“Fuck,” he whispered to himself, disappointment seeping into him from having the perfect gift, only to have it snatched from under his fingertips. He didn’t let himself lose hope completely yet, seeing as there was still a week until their Christmas Eve gift exchange. He asked the worker when they would be restocked, only to have the flame from the candle of hope burning within him blown out yet again.

He shuffled out of the shop dejectedly, the news that the album wouldn’t be back in the store until _after _Christmas bouncing around his head. Sure he could tell Richie that he had to get his present late, but it just wouldn’t be the same. He sighed as he noticed the time on his watch, realizing how long he had already spent shopping already. He walked back to his car, deciding to just go home now rather than refill the meter and shop more.__

__  
_ _

He walked inside as he got home, taking off his shoes and hanging his coat. He gave his mother a vague answer when she asked where he had been, practically challenging her with his eyes to try and question him further. He had grown a lot more confidence against her since he was young, having realized how she had manipulated him and bent him to her will.

He went up to his bedroom, shutting his door. He decided to work on some homework, having nothing better to do. He worked in silence for a few minutes before deciding he needed some music and walking over to his radio. He pulled open his drawer, smiling slightly at the sight of the many mixtapes he had been given from Richie. He shuffled through them, finding his favorite and popping it into the slot. 

That was when it hit him; a mixtape! That would be the perfect gift for Richie. The taller boy often loved to make mixtapes for his friends, Eddie especially. And as much as he liked to deny it and claim he put random songs together, Eddie knew each tape had a story. Making his own mixtape for the other boy would be perfect to show him how much he truly cared about him.

He pressed play on the radio, in much higher spirits than he had been mere minutes earlier. He went back to doing his homework, singing along off key to the songs Richie had handpicked. He half focused on the chemistry work, much too focused on building a soundtrack in his head.

He woke up early the next morning, a smile already on his cheeks. He hopped out of bed, taking a quick shower before getting dressed to go out. He ate breakfast with his mother, buttering her up before asking if he could go out again. She reluctantly let him go, but not without warnings of the ‘dangers’ of the outside world. He resisted rolling his eyes, simply nodding along with a promise to be careful.

He drove back downtown, walking into the music shop from the day before. He got himself a couple of blank tapes, deciding it would be better to have more just in case. He also got himself a tape recorder, knowing from Richie’s rambling he would need one to create the mixtape. He bought the items with a smile, not even blinking at the price as he was too excited.

He drove himself back home, locking himself in his room once he got there. He set up his radio, taking a while to figure out how to attach the tape recorder to it. Once he had it figured out, he turned to Richie’s favorite radio station. He sat at his desk for hours, recording songs that he knew Richie liked. It took him a while to figure out, having to rewind and re-record many times. Once he was finally happy with it he grabbed a marker, doodling all over it.

He looked back up as he heard a love song coming on, a light blush coming to his tanned cheeks. He glanced back to his bag from earlier, biting his lip before pulling out the extra tape he had bought. He put Richie’s to the side and put the new one into the recorder. He sat waiting for another love song to come on, which didn’t take all that long, before starting to record it.

He sat like that until late evening, changing the station a few times until he had filled it up with cheesy love songs including _I Wanna Dance With Somebody _and _I Want to Know What Love Is _. He pulled it out of the recorder, uncapping his marker and writing on the back for him. He left it at that and set it to the side, still blushing lightly.____

___  
_ _ _

He had no intention of actually giving the second mixtape to Richie, the thought of the other boy finding out about his true feelings absolutely mortifying to Eddie. Because of that, it sat in a drawer of his desk until Christmas Eve, next to the one he actually planned to give to Richie.

He didn’t realize he had forgotten to wrap Richie’s gift until the morning of the get together, causing him to scramble around the house looking for present wrapping supplies. He managed to find a small gift bag and some tissue paper and ran back up to his room, throwing them together haphazardly. He pulled open his drawer, grabbing the tape and tossing it in the bag carefully. However, unbeknownst to him, he had managed to grab both tapes.

He didn’t realize this as he grabbed the other, previously wrapped gifts, carrying them down to his car and putting them in the backseat. He got in and drove off to Bill’s house, excitement thrumming through him at the thought of how his friends would react to his gifts.

He parked outside of Bill’s house, getting out and facing the cold. He took his presents out of the backseat before locking the car and going up to the house. He knocked on the door, balancing the gifts as well as he could. He grinned at Bill as he opened it, walking into the warmth the house provided.

He said a hello to everybody, setting the presents down before taking off his shoes and coat. He walked into the living room, sitting on his favorite armchair and curling up. The losers all talked for a while, not as concerned about presents as they were with simply enjoying each others company.

Once it finally became present time, Eddie watched along nervously as everyone opened their gifts. Everyone had enjoyed theirs so far, seeing as they had known each other for years it was easy to know what they would like. He bit his lip when it was Richie’s turn to open his present, not sure how he’d react.

He watched Richie reach his hand into the bag, pulling out only one of the tapes. He saw his eyes grow wide and his lips stretch into a goofy grin- one which showed off his colorful braces. Richie flipped over the tape in his hands, a look of happiness and disbelief on his face.

“Aww, Eds! This better not just be one of mine repurposed!” He teased.

Eddie couldn’t help the light blush that rose to his cheeks, though he picked up a small throw pillow and did exactly that- threw it at him. “Oh, fuck off! Of course I didn’t regift, you asshole. And don’t call me Eds.”

Richie laughed, getting cut off when the pillow hit him square in the face. “Okay, okay! Jeez, no need for violence, Señor!”

Eddie rolled his eyes, though he still wasn’t too sure how Richie felt about it. “You don’t have to like, listen to it if you don’t want.” He said with a shrug, trying to backpedal slightly.

Richie scoffed, shaking his head. “Oh, please! Of course I’ll give it a listen, governor!” He said, putting on one of his awful British accents.

This forced a laugh out of Eddie as he nodded, shooting Richie a grin. The other losers shared a knowing look but didn’t say anything, not wanting to embarrass the two boys.

Eddie didn’t realize his mistake for a few days. As far as he knew, the love mix was still tucked neatly into his drawer. He was blissfully unaware of its actual location until he decided to listen to it one night while he was pining particularly hard. He pulled open the drawer it was hidden in, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he didn’t see it. He figured he had simply put it in another drawer and went to open another.

However, no matter how many drawers he pulled out and bags he looked through, the mixtape was nowhere to be found. He searched every inch of his room, grabbing his inhaler when he couldn’t find it anywhere. He took a couple puffs of the air, the action helping him calm back down.

Physically, the inhaler didn’t actually do anything. He had found out long ago that he didn’t actually have asthma, and it was all just another one of his mother’s schemes. Psychologically, however, it provided a great comfort to him. It may not actually do anything to settle his breathing, but the familiarity of it always helped bring him back down to earth.  
He laid down on his bed, picking at his nails anxiously. He came to the obvious conclusion that Richie had his mixtape, as he knew his mom didn’t snoop through his room anymore. He couldn’t believe how stupid he had been. How did he manage to give Richie the one thing he said he would never?

He flipped over on his bed, burying his face in his pillow and muffling a frustrated scream into it. He felt overcome by emotions, the worst not being embarrassment like one might assume. He was mostly upset at the thought of how Richie would react, and if he would lose his best friend because of it.

He sighed as he turned back over, trying to push it to the back of his mind. Richie wouldn’t drop him over this. Besides, he could probably just play it off as a joke and get away with never talking about it again.

He somehow avoided seeing Richie for the rest of the holiday break, coming up with excuses as to why he couldn’t every time he tried. He felt bad, but he needed time to come up with what he would say if Richie tried to confront him about it.

By the time school came around, he felt he was sufficiently prepared for whatever was to come. (He wasn’t.) He got to school a bit later than usual, having slept in longer than he should have. He parked his car in the lot before rushing into the school, making his way to his locker.

He twisted the lock easily, muscle memory helping him unlock it within seconds. He pulled it open, furrowing his eyebrows as he saw something fall down and bounce against the floor gently. He crouched down, picking up what he now saw to be a cassette tape.

He felt his heart pumping in his chest as he picked it up, wiping his palms on his jeans from his nerves. He looked it over, seeing nothing on it but the words _Eddie, my love _sharpied onto it. That showed him that it was from Richie, as he was the only person to ever call him that.__

__  
_ _

He flipped it over in his hands a few times, finding nothing else written on it. He didn’t even question how Richie got into his locker, sure he had known his combination for ages now. He slipped off his backpack and put it in the front pocket of it, being careful that it wouldn’t be crushed. He tried not to think it would be Richie turning him down, as it could really be anything when it came to Richie. He simply grabbed his books and walked to his history class, talking to Stan for the few minutes they had before class started.

He went through his day like normal, though his mind kept wandering back to the tape sitting in his locker. He saw Richie for the first time in days, but since the other teen didn’t bring up the tape, neither did he. They joked around like usual, something which left Eddie immensely relieved. Clearly Richie had listened to the tape, but by the way he was acting he didn’t seem to mind all that much.

Eddie couldn’t get out of class quick enough once the final bell finally rang. He jumped out of his seat and practically ran to his locker, his smaller frame making it easy to weave through the sea of students. He sighed in relief once he reached it, shoving his books into his bag haphazardly. He made his way to his car, getting in and carefully driving home.

He said a quick hello to his mother once he got inside, though took no time in running up to his room. He shut the door behind him before walking over to his desk, the boombox still sitting on top of it. He was suddenly nervous again, the anticipation over what it could be being taken over by his worries.

He took a deep breath before unzipping his bag, pulling the small tape out of it. He pushed it into the slot, closing it with a small _click _. He pressed play, relaxing a bit once music started to play. The mixtape was not unlike his own, filled with some love songs. It had _Never Gonna Give You Up _by Rick Astley slipped in there, considering that was Richie’s favorite song at the moment.____

___  
_ _ _

He was smiling giddily by the end, hope blooming in his chest once more. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he heard something coming from the radio, having thought the tape was finished. After a second of shuffling noises he heard someone clear their throat, and then Richie’s voice crackling through the speakers.

_How the fuck do you work this thing? Oh! There we go. Uh- hey there Eds. Bet you’re wondering what this cheese fest of a mixtape was. Well, I-uh, I listened to your second mixtape. I wasn’t sure if you meant to give it to me or whatever, but I listened anyways. Pretty strong signals you’re sending there, my guy. So uh, I’m not that great at words, so I figured I’d make you this tape to say I felt the same or whatever. And if that tape was meant for someone else just pretend this never happened, yeah? Thanks for the gift, Eddie, my love. ___

__  
_ _

Eddie’s eyes were as wide as saucers by the time Richie had finished speaking, and a wide smile was tugging on his lips. Richie liked him back, Richie liked him. He could hardly believe it. But it was true, clearly, He took a moment to process before jumping back up, grabbing his car keys and rushing down the stairs. He told his mom he was going out, slipping on his shoes and coat and leaving before she had any time to protest.

He drove to Richie’s house, tapping on the steering wheel anxiously. He parked outside of his house, taking a deep breath to steady himself before getting out of the car. He noticed that his parents weren’t home, figuring they were both at work still. He didn’t bother knocking, he never did at Richie’s house. He stalked up the stairs before he could back out, walking over to Richie’s closed bedroom door.

He pushed it open, just now hearing Richie listening to the mixtape that he made him. Richie jumped slightly as Eddie burst in, having not even heard him walk into the house. He recovered after a moment, giving him an easy grin.

“Oh, hey Eds. Couldn’t stay away for lo-,”

“Did you mean it?” Eddie blurted out, effectively cutting him off. “What you said on the tape, did you mean it?”

_Richie’s eyes widened slightly, a light blush taking over his cheeks and making his freckles more pronounced.” _Oh _,” he breathed out. “I mean, yeah. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” He finished with a shrug.___

Eddie nodded slowly, taking a moment to watch Richie carefully. The boy looked more vulnerable than he had ever seen him. Richie almost never let his true emotions show, usually hiding them behind a crude joke and obnoxious laugh.

The last time Eddie had seen him like that was when they were both 15 and Eddie had stayed over Richie’s house for a sleepover. It was about 2am when Richie spoke up, asking Eddie if he was still awake. He had nervously admit that he felt the same way about boys that he felt about girls that night, nerves clearly pouring from him as he awaited his friend’s reaction.

Eddie had of course accepted him, it would be very hypocritical if he hadn’t. Even after his friend’s confession, Eddie could never muster up the courage to tell him that he himself was gay. Well, until now it seemed.

Richie had started to fidget nervously, seeing as Eddie had yet to say anything more. Eddie finally snapped out of his stupor, walking back over to Richie. He didn’t say anything as he cupped his cheeks, taking a deep breath before shutting his eyes tightly and pressing their lips together.

Richie sat frozen in shock for a moment, making Eddie question whether or not he had made the right decision or not. His worry melted away as Richie finally responded, moving his lips against Eddie’s.

The kiss was awkward, as many first kisses are. Richie’s braces snagged against Eddie’s lip after a moment, making them both laugh softly as they parted. Eddie let his eyes flutter open again, pink lips stretched into a shy smile as he looked down at Richie on the bed.

“I guess I like you too, Trashmouth.”

Richie let out a laugh, smiling with his teeth and showing off the metal brackets proudly. “Eddie Spaghetti likes me,” he teased, lisping around the words slightly and drawing out the ‘e’ in me.

Eddie rolled his eyes, deciding to quiet Richie down by kissing him again. Things wouldn’t be perfect, and they sure as hell wouldn’t be easy, but they would make it work. They would work out the logistics later, for now they were simply content to share each others company (along with a few more kisses). And to think, all of this happened through a mistakenly given mixtape. Maybe Bob Ross was right after all. There’s no mistakes, just happy accidents.


End file.
